Reception Star vs Halaxy

Free core is real. Predictable paid is a different product.

Halaxy’s free core is a genuine option for many practices. Reception Star charges 97¢ per appointment (AUD), no monthly seat, for private fee solos who invoice the client, with field-level encryption and stated limits. We are not a Medicare/NDIS claiming system.

Privacy posture (read both policies)

Health platforms differ in how they describe secondary use of data, research, and analytics. Halaxy (formerly HealthKit) has been discussed in AU press and competitor write-ups around data terms over the years. Do not take our word as a legal brief. read Halaxy’s current privacy policy and ours before you store clinical notes.

What to check on Halaxy

●Secondary use / aggregation / research clauses in the live privacy policy
●What is free vs credit-metered (SMS, modules)
●Encryption claims: disk/at-rest vs application-level field encryption

Reception Star (today)

✓Sensitive fields and clinical content encrypted before storage (not only disk encryption)
✓We hold application keys (not end-to-end); names stay searchable today
✓No ads, no selling practice data, no training public AI on your notes
✓Full honest limits on Security →

What you get for paying Reception Star instead of free+credits

Halaxy’s free tier is real. Reception Star is not free. Paying is for predictability, encryption posture, and a product shaped for private fee admin, not for claiming.

Field-level encryption

Contact details, clinical note content, and other sensitive fields use application-level encryption. Not magic: we hold keys; names are not field-encrypted today. See Security.

No credit fog for the core fee

Reception Star fee is97¢ per appointment. 97¢ per appointment covers Reception Star, including reminders (no per-SMS fee from us). Card processors bill their own rates when clients pay by card.

Multi-practice, one login

Locum or two practices?Switch in one account. Separate businesses stay separate data.

API included

REST API and webhooks on the main product: no separate “automation credits” tier for basic event hooks.

Predictable Reception Star fee

Appointments × 97¢. No monthly seat. Quiet month → $0 Reception Star fees. Usage only. No appointment-cap upgrade ladder.

Who this is not for

Not electronic Medicare, DVA, HICAPS, or NDIS claiming. If claiming tools are your daily path, Halaxy (or another claiming-first tool) may fit better, and that is fine.

Common frustrations with Halaxy

Themes from public reviews plus structural product shape. Not a claim that every user hits every item.

×Credit system for SMS and other add-ons: monthly spend is harder to predict than a single usage rate.
×Interface and options can feel heavy if you only need diary, notes, invoices, and reminders.
×Onboarding complexity for solos who are not running claiming tools.
×Separate businesses often mean separate accounts rather than one login switching practices.
×“Free” still has a cost in credits, time, and (for some buyers) comfort with platform data terms. Read their current privacy policy yourself.

What Halaxy does well

●Core practice software can start at $0: scheduling, records, invoicing, and online booking on the free path Halaxy advertises.
●Australian company; claiming paths (e.g. Medicare/DVA) for practices that need them inside the tool.
●Broad feature set for multi-practitioner and advanced clinic workflows.
●Active product development and a large user base in AU health.

Halaxy free tier

Scheduling, client records, invoicing, and online booking can start at $0/month on the free path Halaxy advertises. That is a real offer.

Often still paid extras

×SMS reminders: typically purchased via credits / usage, not unlimited free
×Some advanced modules and claiming packs depending on plan
×Priority support tiers on paid paths

Reception Star’s fee is 97¢ per appointment with no per-SMS fee from us. See pricing footnote on the homepage.

Cost shape: Halaxy free + SMS vs Reception Star

Reception Star costs more than “$0 + a few SMS credits” at low volume. That is honest. Halaxy SMS credit prices change with packs. Ranges below are illustrative, not a quote. Verify on Halaxy before you budget.

Your week	Halaxy free + SMS (est.)	Reception Star
5 appointments/wk	~$4-5 SMS	$19.40
15 appointments/wk	~$13-15 SMS	$58.20
25 appointments/wk	~$22-25 SMS	$97
40 appointments/wk	~$35-40 SMS	$155.20

Reception Star: 97¢ per appointment, no monthly fee, no seat fee, no per-SMS fee from us (reminders sit inside the appointment fee). All prices AUD. Card processors bill separately when used. If price is the only criterion and free+credits covers your week, Halaxy free can win. Reception Star is for buyers who want usage-priced full product, encryption limits in writing, and no claiming-product shape.

Cost shape: Halaxy credits and add-ons vs Reception Star

Halaxy is not a classic monthly seat ladder on the public free core. Cost is free core plus credits (SMS often about AUD 0.15-0.22 each) plus optional subscription packs (for example API at 150 credits/mo). Pack prices change. Verify live Halaxy pricing. Reception Star column is exact at 97¢ × four-week volume.

Your week	Halaxy (free core + credits / packs)	Reception Star
5 appointments/wk	credits + packs	$19.40
15 appointments/wk	credits + packs	$58.20
25 appointments/wk	credits + packs	$97
40 appointments/wk	credits + packs	$155.20

Reception Star: 97¢ per appointment, no monthly fee, no seat fee, no per-SMS fee from us (reminders sit inside the appointment fee). All prices AUD. Card processors bill separately when used.

API & automation

Halaxy offers API/automation paths that may sit behind credits or plan packaging. Confirm current pricing in their docs. Reception Star includes REST + webhooks on the main product without a separate automation subscription.

Halaxy

●Confirm whether API/webhooks consume credits or require a paid pack
●FHIR-style surfaces can be powerful and heavier for simple solo automations
●Free core does not automatically mean free automation

Reception Star

✓REST API: clients, appointments, invoices, payments
✓Real-time webhooks included
✓No separate automation tier

See an example

No monthly fee. No per-SMS fee. Open a sample week with your email.

See an example

90-day refund of Reception Star fees if it is not right for you.

Halaxy free is hard to beat on pure price. Choose Reception Star when predictable AUD usage pricing, written encryption limits, and a non-claiming private fee product matter more than $0 core.